Keloids: The Achy and Itchy Story of our Skin’s Rebellion – Infographics

Student -

Supervisor

My project comprises of five infographic posters designed to explain different scientific  facets of keloids based on research conducted at the Shaw Lab. My audience is adolescents aged 14-18, from the Adolescent Keloid Clinic at St. Thomas’ Hospital. These are individuals who understand science at a basic level but need more complex ideas/concepts broken down into manageable pieces of information, such as the mediators of pain and itch in keloids. These infographics will sit in the clinic itself, or will be distributed to patients at the clinic by a PhD student from the Shaw Lab. These infographics show what keloids are, their formation, why they form, what may cause pain and itch in keloids, and why some ethnic groups are more likely to develop keloids. This project aims to address the accessibility of keloid science to patients and aims to provide a more informative resource for researchers or clinicians to use when they interact with patients. By bridging the knowledge gap between public opinion and keloid research, this project will help to combat stigma surrounding keloids and improve low self-esteem in adolescent keloid patients. It will also allow patients to actively engage in science that is relevant to them.